Be Your Own Boss: Independent Financial Advisors are Entrepreneurs

Why Independent Financial Advisors are Making the Entrepreneurial Transition

As discussed in the previously published Summit Brokerage blog, “Wirehouse vs. Independent Broker Dealer Firms: What’s the Difference?”, many financial planners and advisors have been turned off from the big-name wirehouse firms; and as such, have been consistently making the entrepreneurial transition to working as independent financial advisors.

The industry term for this type of transition is called “breaking away.” So why do financial advisors oftentimes make the risky choice to break away? One reason is that when you work for a large brokerage/wirehouse firm (the most well-known brokerage firms in the U.S. include Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Wells Fargo) you may feel that you don’t have the freedom to always act in the best interests of your clients. Sometimes, conflicts will arise between what is best for your clients and what is best for your employer. This happens because these types of firms may incentivize their brokers to push certain products which are designed with the primary goal of delivering revenues to the broker rather than the client. Moreover, at your current large brokerage/wirehouse firm, you may be growing increasingly weary and frustrated with constant sales pressure and mandatory quotas, office politics and culture, and seemingly oppressive corporate requirements.

Oh, and by the way, when you are working for one of these brokerage firms, the term “your clients” is really a misnomer. In terms of client ownership, if you’re a financial advisor working with a brokerage/wirehouse firm, while your clients may work with you and you may casually refer to them as “your clients”, these clients aren’t actually “your clients.” Rather, they are solely the clients of the brokerage/wirehouse firm that your work for. On the flip side, if you work as an independent financial advisor, you “own” your clients—your clients are your clients; they belong to you and you only. Client ownership is one big reason why a financial planner with entrepreneurial aspirations would want to “break away” and go at it on his or her own as an independent financial advisor.

Many financial planners have asked themselves this poignant question: “Why would I want to work for the “Man”, when I can be my own man (or woman)?” While the path to success can initially be rocky for financial planners who want to go at it on their own and become independent financial advisors, starting up your own financial planning practice can be one of the most difficult, yet wholeheartedly satisfying, things you can do in your professional life. Ultimately, opening your own practice can lead to new levels of professional satisfaction, prestige, freedom, and high levels of compensation.

Breaking away and going at it on your own is not for the faint of heart or risk-adverse. To be successful, you must have a deep-rooted entrepreneurial spirit, patience, and understand that without risk there is no great reward because the two typically go hand in hand.

If you are considering becoming an independent financial advisor, think about paring with independent broker dealer Summit Brokerage. At Summit, our goal is to provide the support, services, products and leading-edge technology you need to build a successful business. This goal is achieved through our commitment to meeting the highest standards in providing quality, personalized services to our independent financial advisors and their clients. Summit’s independent financial advisors enjoy the freedom and control of being independent while at the same time benefiting from the best support structure in the business.

We encourage you to take a closer look at all that Summit has to offer and find the best fit for you and your practice. Let us show you why we have been voted the best boutique independent broker dealer firm in the country. For more information, visit http://www.joinsummit.com/ or contact us at (800) 354-5528.

For more information on Summit Brokerage Services and our independent financial advisors, visit www.joinsummit.com or contact us at (800) 354-5528. Let us show you why we were voted as the number one boutique independent broker dealer firm in the country!

This blog and website are for informational, educational and discussion purposes only, and the owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. Summit Brokerage Services, Inc., Summit Financial Group Inc., and any of their affiliated entities and principals are not a law firms or an accounting firms, or substitutes for an attorney or accountant. Although topics may be discussed on this blog that may involve legal, accounting, or investment issues, nothing on this blog shall be deemed to constitute the practice of law, legal advice, investment advice, and/or tax advice. Summit Brokerage Services, Inc., and its affiliates do not, and cannot provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses, options, selection of forms or strategies. The content on this blog is “as is” and carries no warranties. You should consult an experienced professional regarding tax consequences of specific transactions.

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